"People were standing in angry knots talking, gesticulating, swearing that yes, they would starve, they would go down to ruin rather than give in now." (Esther Forbes, _Johnny Tremain_)

Are you a word wiz?

"Gesticulate" can be traced back to the Latin word "gerere." What do you think "gerere" means?

A. to carry or bear

B. to shake or tremble

C. to laugh or smile

D. to eat or nibble at

Carry your head high if you picked A! The Latin word "gerere" means "to bear or carry," and it's given English a wide variety of words. Most closely related to "gesticulate" is "gesture." It usually refers to a movement of the body or limbs that expresses or emphasizes an idea or a feeling. Another "gerere" word is "ingest," which means "to take in for digestion," as in "The medicine is more easily ingested in pill form." The word "jest" also comes from "gerere." It refers to a joke or a playful mood or manner.